Guiding effective holiday screen time
With the summer fast approaching, Joan Weir shares her favourite educational apps., convinced that parents and teachers should be guiding rather than forbidding screen time.
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Technology
IT and PE crossover project
Thomas Courcoux of the Atlanta International School (USA) reports how a Grade 4 interdisciplinary unit of inquiry based on “Circus” became a coding adventure resulting in a live performance.
Learning about finance
Businessman, entrepreneur and, yes, accountant, Tim Hill thinks a new app developed with the support of The Electronic and Software Technologies Network for Wales, might not only help students of Business Studies, but also open up a new area for teaching more general life skills to young people.
The fuel that feeds the flame
Educational technology is central to the construction of a modern program of learning, argues Matt Harris. To be properly implemented and sustained over time it must have the committed support of a transformational leadership team.
in Early Learning / Leadership / platform / Primary / Secondary / STEAM Resources / Technology / The Future
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Sing, rhyme (and think!) like an engineer in the Early Years
A range of resources to choose from to suit the needs of the children you teach, which explores the importance of singing, rhyme and rhythm organised around the theme of construction – compiled by Jan Homden.
Ten tips for engaging readers
If you want to be noticed as a school or individual, the skill of writing for publication is of growing importance. Andy Homden has ten ideas to help you engage an online audience.
More than possible . . .
Filippo Yacob, explains that if experienced in the right way, coding can be relevant and important to learning in the Early Years.
The case for computational thinking
Education has embraced ‘the digital age’, but Sally Phillips asks are we doing students a disservice by not providing opportunities for them to learn about the technology that supports our digital world?
Collaborative schools project
Maree Timms describes how a group of educators in country Victoria, Australia collaborated on a project to overcome the “stigma” of STEM subjects and make them more appealing, particularly for girls. Students have dully taken up the challenge!
Perfecting the art
Kognity’s Abigail Bryant looks at how the use of interactive technology can enhance the effectiveness of flipping the classroom when teaching Grades 11 & 12.
Parent power
In the third and final part of this series on Managing Your MIS, Greg Martin offers some practical advice about how a school can use its information management system to connect with parents.
3 articles from 2016
Technology in the classroom – as everywhere else – is just a part of everyday life. Apps are more powerful, flexible and easier to use. But there are so many, and recommendations are useful. Neil Jarrett is a teacher first, techie second: his ideas about tech in the classroom are worth listening to – he also keeps it simple. Blended and on-line learning is no longer a novelty, but some practice is more effective than others. If you are thinking about introducing on-line courses, learn from the experience of Rod Murphy at AIS Guangzhou, while Jackie Harden’s ideas about on-line safety are a great starting point.
How you can ensure all your staff become champions of your new school information management system? Neil Butcher provides practical and very helpful guidance.
Humans are competitive, writes Neil Jarrett. Learners are competitive. Appropriate challenges and healthy competition are motivational and gamification in the classroom is testament to this. Setting up an inter-school competition is the perfect way to introduce a fruitful level of competition and engage and inspire pupils.
Information management technology is inextricably interwoven into the fabric of most schools. At its best it allows schools to manage data efficiently and effectively for the benefit of students, staff, leaders and parents. At its worst it can be a source of frustration for all sections of the school community. Greg Martin shows how to ensure your system suits your needs.
Six essential steps to take: it’s all about people
With the growing competition for students and staff, it has never been more important for a website to be noticed and read properly by the people you want to reach. Andy Homden looks at what you should be doing to give your website the edge.
Pokemon phenomenon
I was in a park in England with my children in the summer and I was a little mystified why so many students were flocking like starlings at sunset. My daughter knew what had them hooked to their digital screens – it was Pokémon Go. Neil Bunting has his eyes opened!
“Personalised Learning is hard” – (Michael Feldstein, 2015)
Neil Jarrett writes that personalising the learning of every student in the primary classroom is not easy. Until recently, he had frequently tried to juggle too many activities and rushed around attempting to support too many students. However, he has found a way forward.
Whilst we all recognize the opportunities the Internet offers, keeping children safe online is a constant source of concern often exacerbated by the gap in online proficiency between child and parents/teacher.
Encouragingly, Jackie Harden reports that support is available and easily accessible. If you feel able to recommend other sources of support, we would love to hear from you.
A Descriptive Writing Prompt
Descriptive writing of settings is one of my favourite areas to teach, writes Neil Jarrett. I enjoy enthusing my students and trying to find ways to boost their creativity and imagination.
Is outsourcing the way forward for more schools?
Supporting university application is an increasingly complex and demanding service that all schools are expected to provide. Is there any support on-line that might help? ITM talked to Tim Laas-Nesbitt, Lead Mentor at Cialfo, the Singapore based university application specialists to explore the area.
The advances in technology witnessed in recent years have been likened to the discovery of fire and invention of the wheel, such has been their impact upon society. Education has largely embraced technological innovation. Its impact upon teaching and learning is undeniable and its momentum continues apace as evinced by the forthcoming GESS technological showcase in Dubai.
In his second article about online learning, Rod Murphy of The American International School Guangzhou, explains the importance of offering an online choice and describes the impact of learning online.
Ethical or cynical?
Educational technology, “edutech”, has been defined as “… the ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance using appropriate technological processes and resources”[1] or, more cynically, as, “A set of expensive tools sold to schools purporting to improve learning but not actually proven to do so.”[2]
Online for IB
The American International School, Guangzhou in China is one of an increasing number of IB World Schools offering some IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) subjects to their students via online courses.
Rod Murphy is the on-line coordinator at AIS Guangzhou. In the first of two articles, he explains how students at AIS get to grips with studying online.